Overview:
Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, various artists have faced an uphill battle to continue, or even sustain, their careers. The world of an opera singer is a tremulous one – always subject to change, criticism, and a grueling travel schedule. The music remains the same, but the trappings and settings change constantly. Anna Netrebko, a native Russian soprano, is trying to rebuild her career since being banned from many European and U.S. stages in 2022. This is a part of her story as Presence News examines the state of opera in 2025.
Protests and Return to the Stage
LONDON – The glitz and glamour of the opera world dimmed on September 12 as protesters gathered outside the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Carrying signs that read “While Netrebko sings, Ukraine bleeds” and “Stop glorifying Russian aggressor culture,” demonstrators made their point clear. Anna Netrebko was the subject of protest as she sang the iconic role of Tosca.
Netrebko virtually disappeared from the stage after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. For the past three years, she has lived in Austria, her permanent home since 2006. Now, at age 55, she seeks to restore what was lost.
Art Mirrors Life
Ironically, the leading lady of Tosca endures the ravages of war during the Napoleonic occupation of Rome, Italy. Her patriot lover and painter, Cavaradossi, strives for freedom against the French oppressors. Giacomo Puccini wrote Tosca in 1900, drawing upon patriotic themes to commemorate Italian freedom from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Netrebko’s performance, according to OperaWire, was worth the three-year wait. “I had read several critical reviews from other roles that, vocally, Netrebko was a fading force; that her gifts were waning, and that her voice had accrued some harshness and flaws. On this showing, I can assure you that that is not the case,” critic Mike Hardy wrote on September 15.
“Her appearances at opera houses will no doubt be further contested, but her place as one of the world’s finest sopranos is still secure,” Hardy added.
In August, UK politicians and even former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark petitioned the Royal Opera House to “remove” Netrebko from the cast. Yet every performance sold out.
Intermezzo
Born in 1971, Netrebko grew up in Krasnodar, southern Russia, near the Black Sea. Her family has Cossack roots; the fierce, horse-riding Cossacks first established the city in 1793. Netrebko’s love of music began early. She attended the renowned St. Petersburg Conservatory while working as a janitor.
Since her operatic debut in 1994, Netrebko has enthralled audiences worldwide, taking on legendary soprano roles. She performed for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2008 and was lauded as the “people’s artist.”
Her links to Putin stirred contention when the first shots were fired in eastern Ukraine. However, Maltese opera star Joseph Calleja defended her:
“First of all, nobody is a prophet. If my president calls for me to give a performance, am I supposed to have a time machine to see what’s going to happen 20 years down the line?”
Adagio
The Ukrainian opera and film director Oksana Taranenko made her view clear: “I mean, which side are you picking? Because I never believed that culture or art can be above all of that. That’s not true. It cannot be.”
For Taranenko, art cannot separate from politics. Many Ukrainians and the international community share this belief.
Netrebko, however, decried the war on Facebook in February 2022:
“My thoughts are with the victims of this war and their families.”
She attempted to distance herself from Putin and the ideology behind the conflict. Though she says she loves her homeland, Russian authorities do not welcome her. Today, she lives in Vienna, Austria, with her son Tiago, where she also advocates for underprivileged children.
New Movement
Fellow exile Alexander Molochnikov, 33, is a theater, film, and ballet director now based in London. He praised Netrebko’s return:
“I’m always deeply against any cancellation of people because they were born somewhere or because they worked in a government theatre. There are no theatres in Russia that are not government theatres, which means: ‘Let’s boycott everybody who was doing art there.’ I strongly disagree with that.”
Netrebko is presently suing the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for discrimination. In 2022, the Met terminated her contract. On July 30, 2025, U.S. District Judge Analisa Nadine Torres reinstated her claim, allowing her legal team to proceed.
Her lawyer, Julie Ulmet, stated the information shared about the soprano had placed her “in harm’s way” across Europe.
Coda
The future of opera is always in flux—artists can rise one season and fall the next. History provides countless examples of singers who stayed true to their craft despite criticism.
Netrebko’s return signals a new moment on the musical horizon. In early 2025, she even performed at a gala in Palm Beach, Florida. Her career may have dimmed, but something is stirring. Opera endures, telling timeless stories of love, loss, redemption, betrayal, and loyalty.
As Puccini once said:
“Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all man’s faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements.”
Sources:
- OperaWire – Mike Hardy, Review of Anna Netrebko in Tosca (Sept. 15, 2025)
- The Observer – Interview with Oksana Taranenko
- Royal Opera House coverage – various reports
- Public statements and social media posts by Anna Netrebko (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube)
- Court documents, U.S. District Judge Analisa Nadine Torres ruling (July 30, 2025)
